Niamh Shackleton
A man who faked his own death has come out of hiding, police have said
Over the summer, Wisconsin dad Ryan Borgwardt went on a solo kayaking trip and never returned home.
The 45-year-old was last seen on August 12 before his kayak and life jacket were discovered, implying that Borgwardt may have gotten into trouble in the water and died.
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A huge search was sparked following his mysterious disappearance and rescue divers were brought in. Drones and sonar technology were also used in the hopes of finding Borgwardt, but their efforts were in vein.
The search went on for more than 50 days.
But police started to become suspicious of the situation when they learnt that Borgwardt had taken out a huge life insurance policy shortly before his apparent 'death'.
Matthew Vande Kolk, Chief Deputy Sheriff for Green Lake County, went on to tell the BBC: "We believe that he is alive. We know that he's not in our lake."
Fast forward to November 11 and Borgwardt confirmed law enforcement's suspicions that he was alive and well.
Green Lake County Sheriff Mark Podoll said in a news conference earlier this week that they'd been in touch with the father-of-three.
They made contact with him through a woman who speaks Russian.
"That was a big turning point," Podoll said.
Police asked Borgwardt to film a video of himself to confirm that he was okay, and asked him questions only he would know the answer to.
It's believed that he's somewhere in Eastern Europe, but he would not confirm his location.
"We do not know where Ryan exactly is," the sheriff said. "He has not yet decided to return home."
"We've had nearly daily communications with Ryan."
While he has spoken to the authorities, Borgwardt has not had any communication with his wife and kids, having last texted his wife on August 11.
Elsewhere Borgwardt is said to have admitted to faking his own death.
Explaining how he did it, Podoll said, as per ABC News: "He stashed an e-bike near the boat launch. He paddled his kayak in a child-sized floating boat out into the lake. He overturned the kayak and dumped his phone in the lake.
"He paddled the inflatable boat to shore and got on his e-bike and road through the night to Madison, [Wisconsin].
"In Madison, he boarded a bus and went to Detroit, and then the Canadian border. He continued on the bus to an airport and got on a plane."